Despite Rs 170cr income, 'RA.One not a hit?'

By Hindustan Times

Eros Entertainment, distributors of Shah Rukh Khan’s RA.One, claims that the superhero film has grossed over Rs 170 cr at the box-office. This number also includes the international collections until Sunday. But according to film trade followers, the Anubhav Sinha directorial, which was made on a reported budget of Rs 150 cr, is certainly not a hit yet.

Trade sources estimate that the collections haven’t exceeded Rs 80 crore in the first five days. “It’s made approximately Rs 80 crore, which is reasonably good. But not that good, if you compare it with Bodyguard,” says Amod Mehra, a prominent tradesmith.

However, Nandu Ahuja, vice president, India theatrical, of Eros International, claims, “The net figures add up to around R 96 cr to R 97 cr. If you calculate the gross amount only in India, then it will be about Rs 137 cr. This includes all the versions.” The Aamir Khan starrer 3 Idiots (2009) had grossed Rs 202 cr, and is considered still the highest earner so far.

Convinced that Eros will fail to recover their investment, Amod adds, “RA.One is not at all a success; forget being a hit. Those who have bought the film are going to lose money. The figures have started going down and if this continues, it’ll be difficult to match even the R 100 cr figure.” Komal Nahta, another film trade analyst insists, “The collection of RA.One on Monday was alarmingly low. Including the Tamil and Telugu versions, it made Rs 92 cr in India until Sunday. On its own, it made Rs 84 crore. It’s a success, but not a hit.”

“Bodyguard was made at one-third the price. It didn’t have 3D, the amount of screens, publicity or sponsors that RA.One did,” says Mehra adding, “RA.One’s second day collection was better, but Bodyguard’s second day was Ganesh Chaturthi. So the revenue had to fall. It’s not like Bodyguard didn’t have a handicap.” The SRK starrer released on Diwali, hence registered reasonably low collections on day one.